Nazanin Boniadi has landed the female lead role in MGM and Paramount's remake of Ben-Hur, Deadline reports.

Best known for playing CIA operative Fara Sherazi on Showtime's critically acclaimed Homeland, Boniadi also had recurring roles on Scandal and How I Met Your Mother.

Her casting comes after Gal Gadot had to drop out of the project due to her commitment to play Wonder Woman in Warner Bros.' ambitious DC Comics film slate. Boniadi will play Esther in Ben-Hur.

Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Wanted) will direct from a script by John Ridley (12 Years A Slave) and Keith Clarke (The Way Back). The updated version of Lew Wallace's classic novel will stars Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) in the title role. Ben-Hur is set to premiere Feb. 26, 2016.